Of course, it’s a given, but the Elves weren’t as welcoming to me this time as they were the last time I visited.
…No, to be precise, they didn’t really seem eager to welcome me at all.
That makes sense. The last time I came here, it was to somehow save Arlil, and this time, I was told before coming that Arlil was essentially a monster, not a divine tree.
Moreover, I believe that from the perspective of Human Society, it would be better if that tree were to disappear after all.
It’s not just because the stories surrounding that tree are horrendous. If the principle of Arlil releasing Holy Power is to slowly emit the Holy Power stored inside its body, attracting creatures targeting that Holy Power, then it’s better for each Elf to live among humans and build connections with the Church rather than waste their power maintaining that tree.
This way, the Elves would develop some social skills and wouldn’t need to be tied down anywhere.
And now, the talk of the Elven Empire has spread throughout the nation during this trial.
Most people probably wouldn’t be interested in the Elven Empire, and even if they were, they would likely just curse it, but the Elves, almost all of whom live in the Elven District, would think differently. For those “differently thinking Elves,” Arlil would still be the sacred ground itself.
A sacred ground that starkly shows the status of the Elven Empire.
And that’s not a good story for either the Elves or other races.
“Oh, Saintess…”
As we got out of the car, the one who welcomed us was Rene, who guided us during my previous visit with Aurora.
“It’s been a while.”
I said this with a smile, but Rene’s expression was a bit dark. Fortunately, it seemed she didn’t have any hostility toward us.
“Um, Saintess, thank you for visiting. But—”
“…Is the public opinion really that bad?”
When I asked, Rene just awkwardly smiled.
“There are very few people who welcome us. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone would refuse the Saintess’s visit.”
Krah must have been released safely. After all, whether Krah tried to kill me or not had already been concluded. The Church was likely more focused on my true identity than on Krah.
Speaking of which, I wondered how far that conference had progressed.
…I hope they didn’t start over from scratch after my identity was revealed.
They said it wouldn’t be a conference that would end in just a few years, but… if it dragged on too long and they dealt with all the demons first, I’d definitely be pulled back into that conference without any say in the matter.
“The Council did ‘allow’ your visit, though.”
I wasn’t sure how meaningful that permission was. No matter how much the Elves lived apart from humans, forming their own lives, legally, this area was still part of Human Society, and I was one of the heads of the two administrative bodies officially recognized by that society.
Well, if we had to be technical, we should call it ‘the one with two heads,’ me and the Pope, but I wondered if there was any point in arguing that now. It seemed the Pope didn’t consider me equal to himself either.
“Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter. At the very least, there shouldn’t be anyone who would come out to harm us.”
I saw how stubborn and thick-headed the Elven Elder Council was last time, but they were well aware that opposing the Church would be a foolish move. Although they had been rude to me, they hadn’t threatened my life.
I was curious about how these stubborn fools, with Krah being the most moderate among them, had gone wrong in the first place.
“But still…”
I masked Rene’s concerns with a smile and slightly turned my body.
“First, the group that came with me is a bit larger than last time. Shall we introduce ourselves first?”
We introduced ourselves to Rene one by one. Since the introductions were conducted according to each person’s personality, the lengths of the introductions varied.
Starting with the relatively sociable Selena, then Linea and Jian, who hadn’t come last time, followed by Rina, who briefly stated her name—
“I’m Satsuki. Satsuki Rechmir.”
As Satsuki introduced herself and extended her hand…
“Uh…?”
Rene’s eyes widened when she heard Satsuki’s name, and she unconsciously glanced at Satsuki’s ears. Although they were shorter than those of the pure-blooded Elves living in the Elven District, Satsuki’s ears were definitely longer and sharper than ordinary human ears.
“Rechmir…?”
“Yeah. I lived here for a very short time in my early childhood.”
“Oh…”
Only then did Rene appear to understand what was going on, nodding as if it finally clicked. She carefully grabbed the outstretched hand and said,
“My name is Rene Himiri.”
“Nice to meet you, Rene.”
Having exchanged such brief greetings, Rene’s gaze shifted to Satsuki’s father, who was standing next to her.
“I am Kirhmir Rechmir.”
At hearing that introduction, Rene’s eyes grew even wider than when she looked at Satsuki.
“Could it be…?”
“Yeah, I think what you’re thinking is correct.”
Before Rene could say anything, Satsuki’s father nodded. Although Rene looked at me with uneasy eyes, I simply averted my gaze from hers.
Well, after all, I was the one invited.
I wondered if anyone could stop me from bringing whoever I wanted along. They’d probably be scolded by the Church if they tried to stop me.
Severely.
I subtly dodged Rene’s gaze, thinking that.
*
And, as expected, there was one person whose blood started to boil.
One of the Elders, the Saint named Rechmir.
I was half-suspecting it, but it seemed Rechmir was indeed not a common name.
“How can an exiled being come back to this village!?”
The “Rechmir,” who looked the youngest of the elders, shouted, but the elder Krah merely looked down at me in silence.
“Please, speak! This is someone who abandoned their family under the pretense of protecting them, violating our rules. Because of that, there was a gap in our powers for a while! A person who committed an act driven by carnal desire returns, and you have nothing to say!?”
“Um, excuse me, but can I interrupt?”
I slightly furrowed my brows and interrupted his speech, causing him to glare at me. However, behind me stood Uncle Paul, who was about two or three sizes bigger than me, along with the knights under him.
When I came here last time, I respected the words of the Elder Council and only entered with Aurora, but now the situation was quite different.
While Krah was captured because of me, the fact that he was able to be released was also due to me.
And unlike Rechmir, Krah had lived among humans in his youth. Of course, since he lived most of his life in this region, he wouldn’t deeply empathize with human thoughts, but he must have an idea of the level of enthusiasm humans have for me.
Most importantly, he hadn’t been long since he learned that he couldn’t mess with me.
“…”
But it’s not that he didn’t have any complaints, and to put it bluntly, he was undoubtedly very upset. Among the prideful Elves, he was probably the proudest among the proud.
In the end, there was nothing he could do but keep his mouth shut as a form of protest against me.
Of course, that young Elder had no way of understanding such unspoken meaning.
Well, it was better than nitpicking every word I said.
“…This is a matter among Elves— it is. An outsider intervening is internal interference.”
“Is that so? I see things a bit differently.”
I scanned my surroundings.
Although I phrased it as “the last time I visited,” this place wasn’t exactly identical to that one. The building, which was originally carved from the inside of the tree where the Elder Council resided, had disappeared along with the village when it was partially destroyed during my previous visit. I could retrieve the books I had stored in the sturdy vault, but since the location itself had vanished, this place was effectively different from where I visited last time.
The fact that it was made of wood was the only similarity, and this Elders’ building wasn’t even larger than the original council; more importantly, it was just an ordinary wooden house, not entirely carved from the tree. The only common point with the place I previously visited might be that this Elders’ building was below rather than above the wood.
“The Elders invited me here. You must have known that I wouldn’t be coming alone. And of course, it’s my prerogative to travel with whoever I choose when visiting somewhere.”
At my words, the Elder’s face turned crimson.
“But the central government doesn’t recognize the autonomy of the Elven region. We make our laws. I’ve heard it works the same way between human regions too, right? A criminal from one region cannot be arrested immediately when crossing to another. But upon returning, that region has the authority to capture that criminal. We merely expelled them, not arrested them.”
“Er… well, there are roughly three problems with that statement, and let me point them out.”
I raised three fingers, making sure my knuckles faced the Elder. Before the Elder could say anything, I quickly continued my speech.
“Although I’m not a legal expert, I do know that there’s a clause in the law that states ‘Contracts and laws that seriously undermine the morals of society are null and void,’ right? Certainly, that moral society includes love and marriage between individuals, and naturally, the regulations aiming to promote harmony between different races and prohibit discrimination in Human Society imply that being expelled due to interspecies marriage constitutes serious damage to that moral society.”
As I said that, I folded my ring finger. My hand formed a V shape, showing the knuckles, which I believed was an obscene gesture in the UK, if I remembered correctly.
Of course, there’s no UK in this world, and I’m not sure if this is still a vulgar gesture, besides, I was just folding my fingers one by one to explain, so there was no intention of any offense, and it was merely a coincidence.
Unfortunately, it seemed Rechmir was too ignorant to understand this as an insult.
“Secondly, regional autonomy is only respected under the premise that it does not infringe upon the autonomy of other regions. Regardless of the reason for the exile, if a criminal is expelled out of one region, they will naturally be headed for another. Think about it logically: what region would welcome criminals entering their territory? In that sense, ‘expelling a criminal’ is a severe infringement upon the autonomy of other regions. It’s illegal. If that’s your logic, you’re all criminals for sending criminals to other regions instead of isolating them. Isn’t that so?”
I spoke, folding my index finger. Oops, now it had become an unmistakable vulgar gesture. But this too was merely a coincidence. I just ended up like this while explaining, and I didn’t mean to convey any offense.
Sadly, that Elder didn’t seem to realize this was an offensive gesture either. How ignorant can one be?
However, judging by Krah’s complexion turning pale, it seemed that maybe that gesture was indeed recognized as offensive.
“And one more thing…Um… I can’t remember. So, let’s just go with two points.”
Saying that, I dropped my hands. A strange tension and silence descended in the space. If I were them, I would have broken out in a cold sweat at the sight of a Saint giving them the finger. But given that I was the Saint, it might not matter as much.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is, from our perspective, he’s not a criminal, so we determined he poses little danger being close to me, and that’s why he’s on my guest list. If it wasn’t the case in the Elven region, I apologize. I wasn’t aware. If you want to expel him again, feel free to do so. But to do that, you’d have to expel me first.”
“…”
At this point, the young Elder, Rechmir, seemed to have lost his words. No, actually, judging by the red face and the veins on his forehead, it was more like he was too angry to speak, rather than having nothing to say.
I think I’ve seen a similar expression on Cardinal Kwon In-Soo.
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave. I have a ton of baggage to clear up. So, bye. I’ll call if I need anything.”
With that, I swiftly turned around, only to find my companions behind me looking stunned, mouths agape as they stared at me.
Well.
Why.
What.
“Um, everyone? Shouldn’t we head to our room? If we sleep well tonight, we can finish our work quickly tomorrow.”
Although it wasn’t quite Saturday yet, we had set out quite late. It was already entirely midnight.
If we didn’t sleep soon, we’d definitely be exhausted for tomorrow.
As I walked toward the door, trying to look uninterested, my companions, who had been frozen in place, eventually slowly turned to follow me.
Just before leaving the building, I stole a glance behind and saw most of the Elders with faces red as if they were about to explode.
Except for Krah, whose face had turned pale.
Well, whatever the reasons, what’s it to me? If they’re angry, they should try picking a fight.
*
“Pffft.”
As soon as we stepped out of the building, Rina burst into laughter. She held her belly, giggling, and said to me,
“You really hate Elves, huh?”
“No, it’s not the Elves I hate, it’s those people I can’t stand.”
“Oh, right, right, of course.”
Rina responded through labored breaths, shaking her shoulders.
…Hmm, what’s this feeling?
Something feels off.
Not because Rina was laughing, though. Something feels strange. It’s like the feeling of realizing I left the gas valve open after arriving back home.
“Oh.”
After walking a few steps, I finally remembered what I had forgotten, and I turned pale.
“U-Um, Rina. Are you okay?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Rina, wiping the tears that had almost spilled from her eyes after stifling her laugh, asked again. I pointed at Arlil, radiating dazzling ‘Holy Power.’
“I mean, Holy Power is flowing out from over there!”
“Huh? Oh, that? …What? Didn’t you know?”
Upon hearing my words, Rina now looked utterly bewildered.
“…What did you know about it?”
“No, well. I feel like I’ve become somewhat resistant to things like this since I began using Holy Power. To be honest, my skin tingles a little like being under a scorching sun, but it’s not unbearable. I mean, it’s not like I’d die or anything—”
…But as she spoke, Rina froze.
“Wait, hold on.”
Rina’s eyes narrowed.
“Y-You didn’t completely forget about the Holy Power while bringing me here, did you?”
“…”
“Wait… You didn’t think that something terrible could happen to me under the Holy Power, did you? You didn’t call me here knowing that…?”
“…”
I averted my gaze, trying to dodge Rina’s penetrating stare.
“You idiot!”
Rina grabbed me by my collar.
“Ah! Hiks, hold on! Let’s talk about this!”
Aurora, who had been listening from the side, quickly went to grab Rina’s arm to prevent her.
“Okay, let’s calm down and discuss this rationally.”
And Linea tried to mediate as well, but…
“No! Is it acceptable to completely forget that my life is on the line? You dragged me here! You!”
Rina had no intention of letting go of my collar as she shook me vigorously.
Uh… um… well.
I guess I kind of messed up.
“Hahaha.”
“You’re laughing? Laughing? You find this funny right now?”
Seeing me break into a hollow laugh, Rina shouted.
Well, I guess.
Yeah.
I had no arguments. Not a single excuse popped into my head.
In the end, it took almost ten minutes after that for Rina to finally let go of my collar.
*
“Are you going to just sit there and do nothing after hearing that? As an Elder of Elves, do you have no pride!?”
After the Saintess left, Rechmir was still fuming and confronted Krah Kihmuhir.
“…”
“We need to take some action. Are you really going to let that rude presence behave so insolently?”
“Hah.”
At that, Krah let out a laugh.
“Is that so? Then let me ask: what can you do? What can you possibly do against the Saintess?”
“That is…”
Rechmir, who was about to say something, ultimately fell silent.
“Up until now, we’ve been treating her arrogantly because they’ve tolerated us. They probably didn’t know who Arlil truly was. They must have been aware of the utility of Arlil here.”
Krah sighed deeply.
“Yet, it feels like it’s not just that.”
“It’s not just that?”
“…”
Krah didn’t answer.
It wasn’t simply that the Church was greedy for Arlil but they were likely conducting some sort of reconnaissance operation alongside the Witch.
Moreover, by deliberately concealing that truth, they had prevented the Elves from incurring further disadvantages to some extent.
And they were quietly keeping the Elves under control as one of the cards they could play against the government.
These were all new realizations Krah had during the trial. There was so much information that could not be grasped just by mixing with humans for a short time. He realized that the structure of Human Society was far more complex and different from that of Elven Society.
Yet, amongst all this, there was one simplicity.
That was the existence of the Saintess.
He didn’t know what had happened outside, but the Saintess had reached a level of power where she could get anything she wanted with just a word.
Considering the reactions humans showed during the testimonies about the Saintess that day in court—
No matter what she did here, she was someone who should never be provoked carelessly.
“…Well, if you want to try, go ahead.”
However, in the end, there was no way to convince the Elders of that. This was something they couldn’t grasp unless they mixed directly with humans.
“However, if you do something to the Saintess that comes to light, I will deny everything. I will never help or be involved in whatever you do.”
It seemed that at least his attitude had been conveyed to the other Elders.
The last time the Saintess visited, Krah had acted to suppress her spirit but prevented anything harmful from happening to her. He had used his authority as the head elder to silence Rechmir, no matter what he had said.
But not now.
It was as if he had given up on stopping anything, as if he had let go of everything.
Whatever Krah had witnessed during the trial, there was one thing clear that could be read from that attitude.
Krah had lost the fight against the Saintess. Probably to the extent that he wouldn’t even consider challenging her again.
“…”
Eventually, after that moment, no one dared to criticize the Saintess’s actions in front of Krah anymore.
However, it didn’t mean that all conflicts and questions were resolved.
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